TY - JOUR
T1 - A systematic review and meta-analysis on antibiotic resistance genes in Ghana
AU - Donkor, Eric S.
AU - Odoom, Alex
AU - Osman, Abdul Halim
AU - Darkwah, Samuel
AU - Kotey, Fleischer C.N.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© The Author(s) 2024.
PY - 2025/12
Y1 - 2025/12
N2 - Background: Addressing antimicrobial resistance (AMR) poses a complex challenge, primarily because of the limited understanding of bacterial antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) and the spread of these genes across different domains. To bridge this knowledge gap in Ghana, we undertook a comprehensive systematic review and meta-analysis to quantify and estimate the prevalence of circulating ARGs in bacteria isolated from human, animal, and environmental sources. Methods: A thorough literature search was conducted across three major databases—Web of Science, PubMed, and Scopus—to retrieve all relevant articles related to ARGs in Ghana from the inception of the databases to February 25, 2024. A risk-of-bias evaluation was performed using the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale (NOS), and the data analysis involved descriptive statistics and proportional meta-analysis. Results: Of the 371 articles initially obtained, 38 met the inclusion criteria. These studies adequately covered Ghana geographically. The most prevalent ESBL gene identified was blaCTX-M, with a prevalence of 31.6% (95% CI: 17.6–45.7), followed by blaTEM (19.5% [95% CI: 9.7–29.3]), and blaSHV (3.5% [95% CI: 0.3–6.6]). The pooled prevalence of carbapenemase genes ranged from 17.2% (95% CI: 6.9–27.6) for blaNDM to 10.3% (95% CI: 1.9–18.7) for blaOXA. Additionally, other ARGs, including sul1, qnrS, gyrA, erm(B), and mecA, were detected, with prevalence ranging from 3.9% (95% CI: 0.0–8.5) to 16.4% (95% CI: 3.1–29.8). Several ARGs were shared across human, animal, and environmental sources. Conclusion: This review revealed that bacteria obtained from human, animal, and environmental samples in Ghana shared genes associated with AMR. This finding provides evidence on the interconnection of AMR across these three domains. Horizontal gene transfer, which enables the dissemination of ARGs between genetically diverse bacteria, can occur, necessitating a multidisciplinary approach to addressing antimicrobial resistance in Ghana.
AB - Background: Addressing antimicrobial resistance (AMR) poses a complex challenge, primarily because of the limited understanding of bacterial antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) and the spread of these genes across different domains. To bridge this knowledge gap in Ghana, we undertook a comprehensive systematic review and meta-analysis to quantify and estimate the prevalence of circulating ARGs in bacteria isolated from human, animal, and environmental sources. Methods: A thorough literature search was conducted across three major databases—Web of Science, PubMed, and Scopus—to retrieve all relevant articles related to ARGs in Ghana from the inception of the databases to February 25, 2024. A risk-of-bias evaluation was performed using the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale (NOS), and the data analysis involved descriptive statistics and proportional meta-analysis. Results: Of the 371 articles initially obtained, 38 met the inclusion criteria. These studies adequately covered Ghana geographically. The most prevalent ESBL gene identified was blaCTX-M, with a prevalence of 31.6% (95% CI: 17.6–45.7), followed by blaTEM (19.5% [95% CI: 9.7–29.3]), and blaSHV (3.5% [95% CI: 0.3–6.6]). The pooled prevalence of carbapenemase genes ranged from 17.2% (95% CI: 6.9–27.6) for blaNDM to 10.3% (95% CI: 1.9–18.7) for blaOXA. Additionally, other ARGs, including sul1, qnrS, gyrA, erm(B), and mecA, were detected, with prevalence ranging from 3.9% (95% CI: 0.0–8.5) to 16.4% (95% CI: 3.1–29.8). Several ARGs were shared across human, animal, and environmental sources. Conclusion: This review revealed that bacteria obtained from human, animal, and environmental samples in Ghana shared genes associated with AMR. This finding provides evidence on the interconnection of AMR across these three domains. Horizontal gene transfer, which enables the dissemination of ARGs between genetically diverse bacteria, can occur, necessitating a multidisciplinary approach to addressing antimicrobial resistance in Ghana.
KW - Antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs)
KW - Antimicrobial resistance (AMR)
KW - Ghana
KW - Multidrug resistance (MDR)
KW - One Health
KW - Prevalence
KW - Systematic review
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=105000058856&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1186/s12920-024-02050-y
DO - 10.1186/s12920-024-02050-y
M3 - Review article
C2 - 40075357
AN - SCOPUS:105000058856
SN - 1471-2350
VL - 18
JO - BMC Medical Genomics
JF - BMC Medical Genomics
IS - 1
M1 - 47
ER -